Chunks of Ugly

The short non-fiction memoir Chunks of Ugly by Ben Langston really stood out to me because it is really intense...and not in a good way. Everyone imagines at some point in their life what really happens in jail...maybe not everyone but I have. It is sort of crazy to think about and sometimes I forget that there are guards and workers there who experience it on a daily basis. Those who do not need to be there but are there because it is a job and they want to get paid. The way Langston talks and describes jail, the inmates, and the way he tells you the "lingo" in jail in parenthesis just makes you have a whole new appreciation for what the guards/nurses/employees who work in the jails and are there not because they have too but because it is a job.

Raymond Carver

I chose the story "Little Things" by Raymond Carver. This story made me extremely sad. I can not believe that they would fight over a little baby that way. It reminds me of how divorced parents sometimes    put their child in the middle (Which is not right). To me, I think that was what Carver was trying to point out in a way, because I have friends who their parents put them in the middle of either their fights or have them say one thing to the other parent for that parent and I see what it does to them. I think that the title was definitely chosen to have some sort of meaning with the Short Story. I thought the "Little Things" is a really good title to have once I was done reading the story. I really noticed ( & loved) the way that Carver used imagery especially in the first paragraph it really sets the mood to showing you that this story is not a brightful happy one. Also, throughout the story I like his use of imagery while reading the story you truly feel that you are there watching all the events take place.

A Very Old Man with Enormous Wings

This photo reminds me of the Gabriel Garcia Marquez story "A Very Old man with Enormous Wings", in the story an angel appears in the countryard. The angel is very raggidy and grotesque and in my head this is how the angel looks like.

Rhinoceros

I believe that everyone in their life has been either a Rhinoceros or a Berenger at somepoint.
For me, I was a Rhinoceros when I was younger. Especially when it came to my older sister. I always wanted to be exactly like her. Whenever she got something I begged my dad to get me the exact same thing to the last detail. Also, when I was younger I remember going a long with my friends even if I knew it was wrong. But, as I grew older to now and grew up I realized that it is ok to be a Berenger it is ok to stand alone even if no one is behind you as long as you believe and know that you are right. That is all that matters. Now I really believe stand up for what you believe in and if you friends are not by your side at the end of the day well then they were not friends in the first place. Lastly, I feel that if I was not a Rhinoceros when I was younger then I would not know how to be a Berenger when I got older and even now.

"Bright Future In Sales"- Fountains of Wayne

Sleeping on a planter at the Port Authority
Waiting for my bus to come
Seven scotch-and-sodas at the office party
Now I don't remember where I'm from

I think I had a black wallet
In my back pocket
With a bus ticket
And a picture of my baby inside
And if I make it home alive

I'm gonna get my shit together
'Cause I can't live like this forever
You know I've come too far
And I don't want to fail
I got a new computer
And a birght future in sales
Yeah, yeah
A bright future in sales
Yeah, yeah

Heading for the airport on a misty morning
Gonna catch a flight to Baltimore
Try to kill an hour with a whiskey sour
If there's time I might have just one more

I gotta do some quick reading
For the big meeting
But my head is spinning
And I can't quite open my eyes
As long as I don't have to drive

I'm gonna get my shit together
'Cause I can't live like this forever
You know I've come too far
And I don't want to fail
I got a new computer
And a bright future in sales
Yeah, yeah
A bright future in sales
Yeah, yeah

I had a line on a brand new account
But now I can't seem to find
Where I wrote that number down
I try to focus, I'm staring at the screen
Pretending like I know
What all these little flashing lights mean

I gotta do some quick reading
For the big meeting
But my head is spinning
And I can't quite open my eyes

I gotta get my shit together
'Cause I can't live like this forever
You know I've come too far
And I don't want to fail
I got a new computer
And a bright future in sales
Yeah, yeah
A bright future in sales
Yeah, yeah

Fountains of Wayne is one of my favorite bands. I really enjoyed doing this post because I love music and it was fun looking and listening to songs. I chose this song by Fountains of Wayne, because it is one of my favorite songs and I never really looked closely to the lyrics and if they had literary devices. When I actually looked for some literary devices I was suprised at how many I found. In this song the band uses a lot of rhyme. Such as the lyrics, "I gotta do some quick reading For the big meeting But my head is spinning." Also, I think that the band uses a lot of consonances' such as "I think I had a black wallet In my back pocket With a bus ticket."  There is also some irony in this song. Throughout the song he is saying that he needs to get his act together and focus on his future yet, throughout the song he keeps saying that he is drinking and that he cannot see clearly and he hopes that he does not have to drive. It is ironic that he wants to get his life together, even though he keeps drinking which is not exactly a way to get your life together. 


Here is a link to the song! If you listen I hope you enjoy this song like I do :)   "Bright Future In Sales"

Spring

While reading all the poems about Spring the one that I liked the most was [O were my love yon Lilac fair]. I cannot really explain why I like this one the best I just do. I love the way the author talks about Spring. Even though the language is different because it is older that is the reason I like the poem so much is because it just makes the poem just right.

Ode to the Present

This

present moment,

smooth

as a wooden slab,

this

immaculate hour,

this day

pure

as a new cup

from the past--

no spider web

exists--

with our fingers,

we caress

the present;

we cut it

according to our magnitude;

we guide

the unfolding of its blossoms.

It is living,

alive--

it contains

nothing

from the unrepairable past,

from the lost past,

it is our

infant,

growing at

this very moment, adorned with

sand, eating from

our hands.

Grab it.

Don't let it slip away.

Don't lose it in dreams

or words.

Clutch it.

Tie it,

and order it

to obey you.

Make it a road,

a bell,

a machine,

a kiss, a book,

a caress.

Take a saw to its delicious

wooden

perfume.

And make a chair;

braid its

back;

test it.

Or then, build

a staircase!

Yes, a

staircase.

Climb

into

the present,

step

by step,

press your feet

onto the resinous wood

of this moment,

going up,

going up,

not very high,

just so

you repair

the leaky roof.

Don't go all the way to heaven.

Reach

for apples,

not the clouds.

Let them

fluff through the sky,

skimming passage,

into the past.

You

are

your present,

your own apple.

Pick it from

your tree.

Raise it

in your hand.

It's gleaming,

rich with stars.

Claim it.

Take a luxurious bite

out of the present,

and whistle along the road

of your destiny. I have read Pablo Neruda before and I have loved all his poems that I have read. This one is no exception. I have never read this poem of his and it stuck out to me more then the other Ode's. To me, this poem is another way of expressing to forget about the past. I especially love the line "...this day pure as a new cup from the past.." Everyday is a new day no matter what happened yesterday. I feel like Pablo Neruda is saying forget about the past and focus on the present do not fret about the past because you cannot change it and thinking about the past would be pointless. It could drive you crazy. And I really feel the same, the past cannot be changed no matter what you do or say or think and tomorrow is just another day.